EW boys post regional times in two relay events
By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on January 6, 2010 1:46 PM
What a way to start 2010.
Perennial swim powerhouse Eastern Wayne entered Tuesday's meet with numerous objectives, but none were more important than earning regional-qualifying times in two boys' relay events.
And they continued the tradition.
The quartet of Collin Hobbs, Keith Gregorcyk, Christian Bermudez and Shane Legg finished runner-up to D.H. Conley in the 200-yard medley relay with a regional time of 2 minutes, 1.87 seconds.
The foursome of Alex Lloyd, Gregorcyk, Bermudez and Legg claimed first in the 200 free relay in 1:43.17 seconds -- nearly six seconds faster than conference rival Triton.
"The kids know (the history), focus on that and don't want to let the kids who came before them down," said Eastern Wayne head coach Sidney Myers. "All three of our relays now have regional times. They're working real hard and are just a great bunch of kids."
Legg claimed the 50 free event and ended up second in the 100. Bermudez captured the 100 breaststroke, while Gregorcyk placed second in the 100 backstroke. Lloyd picked up third-place honors in the 100 free.
Eastern Wayne recorded a meet-best 122 points.
"It's fun this year to teach swimming," said a grinning Myers.
Goldsboro's Travis Paul continued his season-long dominance in the 200 free and 500 free events. Paul bested the 200 free field by nearly 81/2 seconds and won the 500 free by 91/2 seconds.
Teammate Cole Logan seized the 200 IM, swam the third leg on the 200 medley relay team, which finished fifth and took second in the 100 butterfly. The Cougars also received quality efforts from Maddie Vera, Kristin Hudelston, Darion Marks and Steven Morton.
"All the kids dropped time and this is the first meet right after the holiday break, so I didn't expect too much," said Goldsboro coach Johnny Tsui. "We practiced throughout the holidays and the kids showed some improvement in technique."
On the girls' side, Aycock received its usual performances from its veterans. Taylor Allen logged first-place times in the 50 and 100 free events, and swam the anchor leg on the meet-winning 200 free relay.
Bryce Connolly grabbed third in the 200 IM and 100 free, and handled third-leg duties on the 200 free relay. She was joined by Carrigan Chastain and Erica Darner on the relay.
Chastain placed second in the 100 backstroke.
"Considering they had just finished Christmas break and got back to school yesterday (Monday), I thought they did an awesome job," said Aycock coach Ashley Taylor. "A lot of them shaved time off (their personal bests). Bryce dropped five seconds off her 200 individual medley time. She's a year-round swimmer, so that's really hard to do."
Southern Wayne's boys registered a fifth-place finish, while the girls collected sixth place among eight teams. T.J. Jones won the 1-meter boys' diving event with 248 points. Teammates Tommy Sweeney, Christian Newberry, David Joyner, Sam Ferrell and Chad Davis all swam well throughout the evening.
Sarah Judy, Jeni Kominski, Carsta Shulte, Savanna Brown and Michala Best paced the Saints on the girls' side.
"Some of them were a little sluggish because of the holiday," said Southern Wayne head coach Karen O'Donnell. "I'm seeing a lot of growth in stroke development. We have a young team ... in a building mode right now.
"We have some good things coming with our boys' relays."